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General health

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Original poster

Anyone have any experience of a ganglion?

10 replies

QueenEagle · 09/09/2006 14:18

For about six months, on and off, I have had what has felt like a sprained wrist. Whilst i was at the docs for something else, I mentioned it and he diagnosed a ganglion.

So, I have looked up what they are etc and it all fits. What I want to know is should I push to have it removed? Do they ever just go away again?

I play a lot of netball and I often aggravate it during matches. It hurts even to push a pushchair or hold the steering wheel of the car. I can't put any weight on it eg to push myself up out of a chair.

Every now and again the pain is unbearably bad and I can hardly move my hand. How bad do they have to be to get them surgically removed, and what exactly does that involve?

If anyone has any personal experience, i would love to hear your stories.

OP posts:

Medulla · 09/09/2006 14:21

I've got one at the base of my middle finger. It got really aggrevated by lots of driving which I was doing before we moved out to Cyprus. Now it's impossible to do as much driving and so the ganglion reduced in size so much that when I was seen by the orthopod here he said it was too small to remove! Doesn't hurt now either! So in answer to your question it needs to be big enough to remove, injection with steriods is also an option.

sleepycat · 09/09/2006 14:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

QueenEagle · 09/09/2006 14:23

Does it come down to size then? Mine isn't very big but it certainly inhibits a lot of things I can do. What would sway the docs to remove it?

OP posts:

Medulla · 09/09/2006 14:26

He just said to me it was too small to be able to remove it, by the time I had my appointment it had stopped hurting too. I'm guessing by the description of your discomfort yours must be bigger than mine so probably can be removed or injected

chestnutter · 09/09/2006 14:32

I had one about 5-10 years ago which was on my wrist. I was advised that there were two options - to drain it, or to have it surgically removed. I was told that the surgical removal would leave a very visible scar, especially because I was in my 20's and the skin was still smooth (at that point!!!)

The first time it was drained it didn't work very well. The second time, it did, and I haven't seen it since. But mine wasn't as painful as yours sounds.

chestnutter · 09/09/2006 14:33

By the way mine was pretty big, I think, and the surgeon who did it was in Cambridge, if you're anywhere near there...

donna3 · 09/09/2006 15:09

I've had one on and off for about 10 years, but it finally seems to have gone away on its own (hurray).

They often do go away on their own. The old way of dealing with them was apparently to hit them with a bible! I've done this with mine a couple of times - it hurts like hell but did work and it went away for 6 months or so! It just squishes all the fluid out of them and flattens them.

You can have them aspirated or removed but they can still come back. They hurt most when they're coming up, so you might find it gets better in a couple of months if you can bear to leave it that long...

jollyfolly · 09/09/2006 15:10

i have one on my wrist about the size of a erm a erm god i dont no large pea.... small gob stopper(???) can be quite painful and generally feels a little achy all the time. Gp said they used to smack them with a heavy bible in the old days to disperse them (ow) and i actually know someone who says she did this and it worked.... dont think it is recommended though. Gp also reckons they come and go in size and pain levels.... although mine has been pretty persisstant over the last year. Guess if it effecting your life style it might be worth getting it removed, at the moment i am happy to leave mine but i am a bit of a baby so the thought of hospitals and knives etc does not bode well.

hitchcock · 09/09/2006 15:11

i had one on the back of my hand, it looked like i was double jointed on the wrist it was that big(golf ball size). anyway, when ibecame pre with ds it dissapeared,over night one day it was there and the day it was gone!!! no one has ever explained why it went, the funny thing was that dp was sure that when baby arrived he would have my growth on his head/or his body. he didnt he was perfect.

Original poster

QueenEagle · 10/09/2006 11:03

LOL - yes my doc said they used to tell the patient to look at that over there, then bash the ganglion really hard when they weren't looking!!! How bizarre!

Mine hasn't got an obvious lump but I do have a large indent on the back of my wrist. I'm not bothered by it in a cosmetic sense at all but think it will only be a matter of time before I have to go back to doc and ask for a referral to have it removed as it is very, very painful.

Didn't realise they were so common, thanks for your stories.

OP posts:

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